Kamala Harris’ endorsements from Republicans illustrate Trump’s style of leadership by dilemma

In this year’s presidential election, over 100 former Republican elected officials have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency. Julia Azari writes that Donald Trump’s style of leadership by dilemma, which often puts fellow Republicans in difficult positions, is part of the explanation for Trump’s shrinking GOP coalition. While many Republicans have stuck with Trump out of fear of electoral defeat, or even for their own safety, the shift of moderate Republicans who are concerned about democracy and national security, towards Harris may signal a reorientation of the party’s political system away from Trump’s MAGA politics.

During the 2024 election season, over 100 Republican former officeholders (and a few current ones) have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, citing former President Trump’s unfitness for office and threat to democracy. Among the most prominent have been former vice president Dick Cheney, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and former Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ). The list also includes people who worked in the Trump White House, including former White House press secretary and First Lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, former press secretary Anthony Scaramucci, and former White House Staffer Cassidy Hutchinson.

Donald Trump’s leadership by dilemma

Why these changes of heart among so many Republican figures? Much can be explained by Donald Trump’s style of leadership by dilemma. This means that Trump often puts fellow Republicans in difficult positions, forcing them to defend statements, issue positions, or actions that they don’t really want to defend (and would not have had to in the past). This has a dual effect: it enhances Trump’s power over others by inducing them to make a choice that they might not otherwise have made. But it also inevitably raises the costs of staying with Trump enough that the coalition shrinks as Republicans decide that some of his words or actions have simply gone too far. Perhaps the most striking example of this is that Trump’s own former vice president – whose life was threatened during 2021 insurrection – has declined to endorse Trump. But he hasn’t endorsed Harris either.

There have been lots of examples of elected Republicans as well as conservative media and movement figures contending with Trump’s leadership by dilemma: there were any number of controversial remarks during his 2017-2021 term as president, his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election. Each presidential election, however, has offered an additional dimension to this dilemma: do Republicans who disapprove of Trump’s words and actions endorse his Democratic opponents, even as they may disagree strongly on policy issues?

It’s not that this is entirely new. A number of Republicans – mainly moderates like former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman and former Congressman Chris Shays, as well as officials from past administrations – supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. The same happened for Biden in 2020 – as well as the more organized support of the Lincoln Project, which drew together prominent Republican campaign veterans to make ads opposing Trump’s second term. But there are a few new angles to pay attention to in this election.

Why many Republicans have stuck with Trump 

It matters almost as much who is not on the list as who is. For example, former South Carolina Governor and Trump UN ambassador Nikki Haley has stated her intent to vote for Trump in November despite her criticisms of him during the primary. Haley clarified her intentions in a prime time speaking slot at the RNC in July, illustrating how crucial Trump support has become for the prospect of a future in the party. We’ve seen these dynamics at play since Trump won the Republican nomination in 2016 – politicians who were once critical of him were eventually moved to support and endorse him. And the political calculus behind these moves is not inaccurate – politicians who have disavowed Trump in more controversial moments – after the 2017 events in Charlottesville, Virginia, or after the 2021 insurrection – have lost primary elections or left politics rather than face electoral defeat.

“President Donald J. Trump at the United” (Public Domain) by The Trump White House Archived

Another of Trump’s prominent critics, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) has cited the safety of his family as a reason that he has not come out more strongly against Trump’s 2024 presidential bid and endorsed Harris. Romney’s recent biography also mentioned the issue of threats when describing the decisions of Republicans about supporting the 2021 impeachment. These threats have also been recorded against Republican election officials who have rejected Trump’s election “theories” as well – figures like Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, (who has not endorsed Harris) and Arizona’s Stephen Richer. (It’s not clear if Richer has endorsed Harris but he had stated his intent to vote for Joe Biden before he left the race.) Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has declined to endorse either candidate.

The Republican Party reorients

Harris’ GOP supporters are still disproportionately drawn from the ranks of moderates like former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger and traditional Republicans from the Nixon, Ford, and George H.W. Bush administrations, many of whom are oriented around the national security concerns of that era’s GOP. But the list has grown to include more conservative types like the Cheneys and former Senator Flake – as well as a number of George W. Bush administration officials – who share little policy overlap with the Democratic nominee. It also includes some of those who served in the Trump White House in some capacity. This could suggest either the short-term formation of an anti-MAGA coalition that prioritizes stated concerns about democracy, competence, and character. It could also signal the long-term reorientation of the political system, with positions on these and other central MAGA issues defining political conflict.

Finally, it’s important to note which reasons aren’t being offered by Republicans who have thrown their support behind Harris. They’ve talked about Trump’s “division” and “demagoguery,” and there’s been a strong emphasis on the importance of rule of law. But few have directly addressed Trump’s racism and demagoguery against immigrants specifically. Notably, some prominent Ohio Republicans denounced the campaign’s spread of false claims about Haitian immigrants – who are in the United States legally – in Springfield, Ohio, but still maintained their support for his candidacy. This is unsurprising – American politics has a long and bipartisan tradition of not confronting difficult race issues or standing up for racial minorities – but carries an important lesson about the future of American politics. Concern about democracy forms the basis of the anti-MAGA coalition. Anti-Trump Republicans have expressed clear thoughts about what democracy is not, and their ideas have largely meshed with those of their moderate and liberal counterparts. But democracy is not a clearly defined and agreed-upon concept. At some point, this coalition will also have to figure out some common ground about what democracy is.